1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting and ejecting noodles cuts a band-shaped piece of dough and ejects noodles, and a noodle scraper peeling the noodles that were cut and ejected in cutting blade rolls of the apparatus, from the cutting blade rolls.
Specifically, the present invention relates a noodle scraper that increases the distance between adjacent noodles, front to back and side to side, peels the noodles from a groove section of the cutting blade rolls, prevents the noodles from being bent after the noodles are removed from the cutting blade rolls, prevents adjacent noodles from adhering to each other, and is used for producing noodles that are restorable to a liner-shape when the noodles are cooked.
2. Background Art
As a method for producing noodles, generally, a method is known in which a noodle dough is produced by mixing and kneading ingredients for producing noodles, such as a flour or starch, a noodle band is produced by rolling the dough with a predetermined thickness, the noodle band is cut and linear noodles are ejected with a predetermined thickness by use of an apparatus for cutting and ejecting noodles, and raw noodles are thereby produced.
The raw noodles are processed after required processing steps such as a cutting process or a steaming-boiling process in accordance with a configuration of finished products of a variety of noodles such as raw noodles, dry noodles, steamed noodles, or instant noodles.
In a step for producing steamed noodles and instant noodles, after noodles are cut and ejected, it is essential for the noodles to be in a steaming-boiling process.
An apparatus for cutting and ejecting noodles is substantially and continuously connected with a steaming-boiling apparatus with a noodle feeding conveyer interposed therebetween, and transfer of noodles is automated.
In a conventional apparatus for cutting and ejecting noodles, the pair of cutting blade rolls is disposed in a horizontal state or in an appropriately inclined state, and a guide pipe is provided under the cutting blade rolls.
The guide pipe extends in a direction perpendicular to a traveling direction of the noodle feeding conveyer or in a sloped direction with respect to the traveling direction.
The noodles that were cut by and ejected from the cutting blade rolls is transformed from the linear shape to the bent shape when passing through the guide pipe.
In addition, the noodles that were transformed into the bent shape are guided to the feeding conveyer disposed under the guide pipe.
The feeding conveyer transfers the noodles that are in a bent state in a perpendicular direction (vertical direction), to the steaming-boiling apparatus.
In the steaming-boiling apparatus, boiled noodles having a required bent shape are obtained (for example, reference to Japanese Examined Utility Model Application Publication No. H4-38714).
The pair of cutting blade rolls are constituted of two rolls in which a plurality of toroidal-groove sections is consecutively arrayed with a predetermined distance in a circumferential direction of each roll.
A protuberance portion that is provided at a circumferential face constitutes a cutting-edge portion, protuberance portions of the two cutting blade rolls are alternately engaged with each other.
When the two cutting blade rolls rotate due to a driving device and the noodle band passes between the two cutting blade rolls, the noodle band is cut by the protuberance portions of the two cutting blade rolls.
Namely, the pair of cutting blade rolls is a cutting device cutting the noodle band and ejecting noodles.
In addition, a noodle scraper used for producing noodles is disposed under the cutting blade rolls.
The noodle scraper is constituted of a plate body that is folded once or more so as to have an obtuse angle.
In addition, a plurality of scraping tines is provided in a comb form at one of the long sides of the noodle scraper.
The noodle scraper is disposed under the cutting blade rolls so that the scraping tines are engaged with or fitted into the toroidal-groove sections of the cutting blade rolls.
When the noodle band is cut and the noodles are ejected by use of the cutting blade rolls, that is, when cutting and ejecting are performed, in both of rolls facing each other, the cutting blade in one of the rolls shears the noodle dough (noodle band) so as to push the noodle band into a groove section in the other of the rolls. Because of this, the noodles that are formed by shearing the noodle band are set in the toroidal-groove sections.
Consequently, when a shorn face (cutting face) of the noodles that is not dried is adhered to an inner surface of the groove section, the noodles also remain in the groove section after the cutting and ejecting of the noodles, and it is difficult to remove the noodles from the cutting blade rolls so that the noodles are dropped from the cutting blade rolls.
In addition, a removal defect in that it is difficult to remove the noodles that were cut by and ejected from the cutting blade rolls occurs. Due to the removal defect, the roll rotates in a state where the noodles are brought in the roll.
As a result, the noodles are tangled around the periphery of the cutting blade rolls, and it becomes impossible to continuously operate the cutting blade rolls.
In order to solve the foregoing problem, conventionally, the above-described noodle scraper used for producing noodles is disposed under the cutting blade rolls, each scraping tine formed in the shape of the comb is engaged with or fitted into each toroidal-groove section of the cutting blade roll. Therefore, the cut-ejected noodles that were set in the toroidal-groove sections of the cutting blade rolls are peeled by use of the scraping tines while rotating the cutting blade rolls.
In this way, it is possible to smoothly remove the noodles from the cutting blade rolls so that the noodles are dropped from the cutting blade rolls in a rotating state.
The foregoing comb-formed noodle scraper is referred to as a noodle scratching plate, a scraper, or a scraping body.
In addition, the scraping tines formed in the shape of the comb is referred to as a peeling blade, a scratching blade, or a scraper.
In a conventional method for producing boiled noodles or in an apparatus for producing the same, as shown in FIG. 2, a cross-sectional face of a cutting blade of cutting blade rolls 13 and 13′ has a recessed-protuberance shape in an axial direction.
In addition, the depths of the plurality of groove sections 14 and 14′ are equal to each other.
The noodles have been cut and ejected by use of the foregoing cutting blade rolls 13 and 13′.
The noodle scraper used in the cutting blade rolls 13 and 13′ shown in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which the tine-lengths of the scraping tines are equal to each other so as to be the shape of the comb.
In addition, in the noodle scraper as shown in FIG. 3, long scraping tines and short scraping tines have been alternately and repeatedly provided in a simple manner.
When the noodles are cut by and ejected from the cutting blade rolls 13 and 13′ by use of the foregoing noodle scraper, the noodles that were cut and ejected are peeled and removed form each of the cutting blade rolls corresponding to the tine-length of the noodle scraper in a state where the noodles are aligned in line. The noodles are dropped on a noodle feeding conveyer or a guide pipe which is provided under the cutting blade rolls. The noodle feeding conveyer transports the noodles to a steaming-boiling apparatus. The noodles have been processed by a steaming-boiling process.
Because of this, when the cut-ejected noodles are simply steamed and boiled in a bundle form, adhesion or agglutination of the noodles occurs at portions between faces of the noodles which have been cut and ejected or between rolled faces of the noodles. Steaming-boiling defects and steaming-boiling insufficiency (starch gelatinization insufficiency) occur at portions at which the noodles are adhered or agglutinated.
As a result, there is a problem in that the commercial value is degraded.
In addition, when the noodles are cooked and restored, that is, when a boiling-heating cooking is performed, a defect of ravel in that the noodles do not adequately ravel, a cooking defect or the like occurs. Therefore, there is thereby a problem in that qualities of eating and texture are degraded in terms of tasting the noodles.
As a method of solving a problem of the noodles being adhered, agglutinated, or joined to each other, conventionally, bent noodles are formed by bending the cut-ejected noodles in an undulating form by use of a guide pipe, and the bent noodles are steamed and boiled (for example, reference to Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S30-3036 and Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S30-7193).
In this case, the noodles that were cut by and ejected from the cutting blade rolls are grouped so as to be separated into noodles groups for each cutting blade roll. The noodles are formed so as to become bent noodles in an undulating form in a perpendicular direction (vertical direction). Because of this, the frequency of adhesion of the noodles that are adjacent to each other is reduced.
However, the noodles that were cut by and ejected from one of the cutting blade rolls are evenly aligned in one of the cutting blade rolls, and the noodles that are adjacent to each other by a micro distance are in contact with each other at the shorn face thereof. Because of this, it is impossible to prevent adjacent noodles in the same row from adhering to each other.
Furthermore, due to a heating action caused by steaming and boiling, noodle components are changed, the bent shape of the bent noodles is fixed, an adhesion portion of the bent noodles that are adjacent to each other is agglutinated and fixed, and the bent shape becomes tight.
Consequently, the portions at which the noodles are fixed are unevenly steamed and boiled (starch gelatinization), and there is thereby a problem in that a defect of ravel in that the noodles do not adequately ravel, or a cooking defect occurs in a finished product.
Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S55-34648 disclose a method for continuously producing steamed noodles in which coalescence and agglutination do not occur between adjacent steamed noodles after the steaming-heating is performed.
In this method, a noodle scraper is employed, and the noodle scraper includes a long scraping tine and a short scraping tine (two lengths of scraping tine), and they are alternately arrayed.
Each of the two kinds of scraping tines of the noodle scraper is engaged with a front position or a rear position in a circumferential direction of the cutting blade rolls.
The noodles that were cut by and ejected from the cutting blade rolls are peeled and removed from each of the front position and the rear position in the circumferential direction of the cutting blade rolls.
In this way, a noodle group that was cut by and ejected from one of the cutting blade rolls is divided into two groups, that is, the noodles are divided into four noodle groups in the pair of cutting blade rolls.
Therefore, in accordance with the shape of the scraping tine of the noodle scraper, a noodle group that was cut by and ejected from one of the cutting blade rolls is divided into two groups.
Moreover, since a gap between noodles that are adjacent to each other and that were cut and ejected from the same row in one of the noodle groups expands, adjacent noodles are prevented from being coalesced or agglutinated.
In Japanese Examined Utility Model Application Publication No. S63-45903, the same technique as the technique of Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. S55-34648 is disclosed.
In disclosure of Japanese Examined Utility Model Application Publication No. S63-45903, in order to engage the scraping tines with the front position and the rear position of the roll circumferential direction, the scraping tines are folded so that the engagement angle of a short scraping tine relative to the roll is large.
The foregoing technique is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. H4-41582 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 3746087.
However, the above-described conventional arts disclose a technique in which the scraping tines of the noodle scraper are alternately folded, and positions at which the groove sections of the cutting blade rolls are engaged with the scraping tines are different from each other, and the amount of displacement between the front position and the rear position in the roll circumferential direction is too low.
Therefore, problems (1) and (2) still exist.
(1) When the noodles are peeled from the cutting blade rolls, even if a plurality of noodles is divided into each group, there is a problem in that, along with removal and dropping of the noodles from the cutting blade rolls, the noodles approach each other, and adjacent noodles are joined to or adhered to each other.
In addition, there is a problem in that a plurality of the noodle groups are disposed while being attuned to each other in accordance with a state where the plurality of noodles land on the feeding conveyer disposed under the cutting blade rolls or in accordance with the shape in which the plurality of noodle groups that were divided into a plurality of groups and were stacked in layers.
For this reason, there is a problem in that adjacent noodles are joined to or adhered to each other while all of the plurality of noodle groups have the same bent shape.
(2) In addition, since the noodles that were cut and ejected as one group are peeled from, removed from, and dropped from the cutting blade rolls while being aligned, the noodles that were cut and ejected from the same row are formed so as to have a space corresponding to one noodle size.
However, a gap between the noodles that are adjacent to each other is narrow.
Because of this, if the plurality of noodles having a narrow distance therebetween lands on the feeding conveyer while being attuned to each other, there is a problem in that the shorn faces of the noodles that are adjacent to each other in the same row are adhered to each other.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H10-210924 specifies an angle of the scraping tine relative to the cutting blade rolls, and the distance between the front position and the rear position at which the scraping tines are engaged with the groove sections.
In this technique, the problem of the above-described (1) is improved, however, the problem of the above-described (2) is not solved.
Namely, when the noodles that were cut and ejected from the same positions in the circumferential direction of the cutting blade rolls land on the feeding conveyer while being attuned to each other, there is a problem in that the shorn faces of the noodles that are adjacent to each other are joined to or adhered to each other.
In addition, conventionally, when dry noodles, steamed noodles, instant noodles or the like are produced from raw noodles, in order to prevent the cut-ejected noodles that are adjacent to each other from being joined, agglutinated, or adhered to each other, the cut-ejected noodles are formed so as to bend in an undulating form that is forcedly stretched in a perpendicular direction (vertical direction). Furthermore, a noodle agglomeration in which the noodles are stacked in two-stage layers is formed, and portions at which adjacent noodles are adhered or in contact with each other are reduced.
However, in a method of forming the bent noodles as described above, the plurality of noodles that were cut by and ejected from one of the cutting blade rolls are periodically formed so as to be bent noodles at the identical frequency.
Because of this, in adjacent noodles of the plurality of noodle groups that are periodically cut and ejected at the identical frequency, there is a problem in that shorn faces that are adjacent to each other are further easily adhered to each other when a bending step is performed.
For this reason, adhesion-joint portions are dried while being unmodified, a fixed noodle agglomeration is formed; or, a noodle agglomeration in which the adhesion-joint portions are agglutinated is formed due to a starch gelatinization action in a starch component, which is caused by a steaming-boiling process such as steaming or boiling.
Because of the foregoing fixation and agglutination in the noodle agglomeration, a starch component is incompletely or unevenly gelatinized, a defect of ravel in that noodles do not adequately ravel when the noodles are cooked, and a defect of qualities of eating and texture such that restored noodles are tasteless occurs.
Therefore, because of the fixation and agglutination of the noodles, a commercial quality and a commercial value to be significantly degraded.
In order to solve the above-described problems, as much reduction of the adhesion of adjacent noodles as possible has been desired.
In addition, a method is disclosed in which a noodle scraper including a long scraping tine and a short scraping tine (two lengths of scraping tine) is employed; the scraping tines are alternately arrayed; each of the noodle scraper having two types of scraping tine is engaged with the front position and the rear position in the circumferential direction of one of the cutting blade rolls; and a noodle group that was cut by and ejected from the cutting blade roll is separated into two groups.
However, even if this method is employed, the noodle group that was cut and ejected from the front position is not sufficiently separated from the noodle group that was cut and ejected from the rear position.
In addition, each of four noodle groups that were cut by and ejected from two cutting blade rolls is formed so as to periodically bend at the identical frequency, the groups are stacked in layers and steamed and boiled.
Therefore, the problems of adjacent noodle groups being joined to and adhered to each other, and of adjacent noodles being joined to and adhered to each other in a single group, are not still solved.
For this reason, a problem such as the defect of ravel in a finished product still remains.
Generally, the shape of a buckwheat noodle or a wheat noodle is typically linear.
However, in a case where raw noodles that were cut and ejected are continuously processed by steaming and boiling while the linear shape thereof is maintained in order to produce a large quantity of noodles, it is necessary to prepare a heavyweight feeding conveyer or a huge steaming-boiling apparatus, and there is a problem of a disadvantage occurring in terms of space and cost.
In order to solve the problem, a method in which noodles are formed so as to be bent in a steaming-boiling step, in which and the bent noodles are stretched after the steaming-boiling step is disclosed (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S48-56876).
However, in this method, it is necessary to further prepare an apparatus for stretching the noodles.
Additionally, when noodles having the same degree of strength as conventional bent noodles are formed so as to be bent by use of a method in a manner similar to cut and eject conventional bent noodles, and when and a steaming-boiling process is performed, noodle components are denatured due to steaming-heating action in the steaming-boiling process, and the bent shape of the noodles is fixed. Even if the noodles are stretched after steaming and boiling, the noodles are not returned to the shape of line, and there is a problem in that the bent shape thereof is maintained.
Consequently, in a continuous quantity production of a buckwheat noodle and a wheat noodle along with the steaming-boiling process, there is a problem in that it is difficult to produce linear noodles after cooking.
Because of this, in a provision of a buckwheat noodle and a wheat noodle having the bent shape, consumer dissatisfaction is not still solved.